The voice came again that night, calling my name, but this time I wasn't asleep at all. I had been unable to drift off, plagued by doubt and my back aching whenever I stayed in one position for too long. So when I heard the voice again, I knew it wasn't just a part of my nightmares. I got out of bed, grabbing a pair of shoes and my thick, black cloak from the cupboard, quietly making my way down the stairs. I had managed to lose the cloak I had bought after my fight with Arthur, forgetting to return for it after my humiliating defeat. So I was stuck with the one I'd worn whilst travelling here, thankful that Gaius had washed it for me along with the rest of my travelling clothes.

I snuck past Gaius, asleep in his bed downstairs, looking back after opening the door to make sure he hadn't heard it. He began snoring softly and I allowed myself a small smile as I stared at him; he looked younger without worry creasing his face, wearing the same clothes he'd been working in, with his blanket resting along his waist. He was a good man, I realised. We might disagree on, well, everything so far, but he was trying. And he cared. I used my magick to gently pull up the blanket, not moving from my place by the door, until it covered him to his neck and then, with a final parting smile, I walked out the door.

I walked a little down the hall before fixing the shoes to my feet, not having wanted to risk the noise of their soles on the stone floor, and pulling my cloak tight around my shoulders, untucking my hair from beneath it and letting it fall freely down my back. I didn't care that I was only in my nightdress, the cloak kept away the chill from the night air and it wouldn't look good for me to be caught sneaking around the castle, whatever I was wearing. At least if any guards saw me they wouldn't assume me to be a burglar or assassin, this way.

I began to make my way down empty corridors, taking the many twists and turns as though it was a trip I made regularly, unsure how I knew my way but not bothering to second guess myself. My instincts had never been wrong and I trusted they would lead me the right way, now. It was almost as if there was a thread connecting me to whoever had been calling my name, something so tangible and strong that it would have been easy to convince myself it was a physical thing, if not for the fact I couldn't see it.

I hadn't seen any guards as I'd made my way through this section of the castle, their patrols probably centred around the royal quarters and the treasury, but my luck ran out as I made my way down a second staircase. Two Knight's were sat at a table, guarding another stairway, and playing a game to pass the time. Merlin. My head snapped around, searching for the owner of the voice but there was only me and the Guards. They hadn't said a word. I looked back at the stairway they guarded, the only place it could have come from but... how hadn't they heard it? As one of the men threw the dice I used my magick to give them an extra push, both of them rolling to the floor and continuing to roll as the Knight's followed after them. Fools. I wondered how bad their training must be if they were both stupid enough to leave their post to chase after a set of dice; if I'd been an assassin sneaking through the castle they would have been in some serious trouble.

I used their idiocy to my advantage, swiping an unlit torch before hurrying down the staircase, being careful not to trip as I descended into darkness. I waited until I came to the last lit sconce before lighting my torch, the way ahead completely black, a fair distance between myself and the guard's post. Merlin. The voice called again, urging me on. This staircase had to go beneath the castle, itself, I had already been on the lowest floor, besides the dungeons, when I'd taken the first step and these stairs seemed to go on forever. Gods help me when it came time to climb back up them.

After about twenty minutes of climbing down stairs, it finally came to the end. Merlin. I began hurrying now. I was close. I could feel it. And the voice had been growing louder the closer I got. I rushed down a short hallway made of rock, rounding a corner that ended in an empty cavern. I stepped past the opening, realising that it led... nowhere. Just a rocky ledge before a large drop. I couldn't even see the bottom. What the...? I was going to be seriously pissed if I'd gone the wrong way. But... I couldn't have. Surely. I was in the right place. The chord I'd been following had led here! So where was whoever had been calling me? The light from my torch bounced off the stalactites and I noticed a huge rocky mound a few feet across the gap. I could likely jump it if I took a running start, but it was just an empty space, the ground around it given way many years ago. Had likely been that way since before the castle had even been built. It must have led somewhere at some point but it was completely impassible now. Unless you could fly, anyway. So where were they? I began to turn back, convinced I must have missed something, another opening perhaps.

A deep, resounding, laugh echoed throughout the space and I spun back around. There was no one there. How was this possible...?

"Where are you?!" I yelled, my voice echoing off the rocks. I knew I should have felt some amount of fear but I was tired and kind of pissed off. Whoever it was had known I was coming, had been calling me for days, and now he wanted to play games? I was not in the mood. A loud boom resounded off the rock walls, a great gust of wind following it. It repeated. Again. And Again. And Again. What the Hell was happening?! A deep roar echoed and I began taking several quick steps back as a large form fell from the sky. Landing with an almighty thud against the rocky platform mere feet away from me. It was a Dragon! The Dragon Gaius had told me about! How hadn't I pieced it together before? He had said he had been imprisoned below the castle. Had practically led me straight to him!

"I'm here." It could talk! He waited, patiently, whilst I pulled myself together. My heart hammering against my chest. He stayed very still, trying his best not to spook me further. Of course, if he hadn't wanted to scare me at all he could have bloody warned me! Sensing that my fear had begun to melt away, albeit replaced by irritation, he took a step closer. The gap between us giving me little comfort when I considered he could likely stretch his neck across it and eat me before I could start running. " "How small you are for such a great destiny." I blinked back at him. Now he wasn't roaring at me his voice had taken a softer tone, gentle almost. He knew me. Had known I was here. Knew why I was here.

"Why? What do you mean?" My voice was barely a whisper and I forced myself to clear my throat, not wanting to seem afraid, and speaking louder. "What destiny?"

He began to lie down atop the rock, lowering his neck, making himself smaller so we were almost at eye level. It kind of reminded me of the way someone might approach a scared child. I tried not to bristle at the thought.

"Your gift, Merlin, was given to you for a reason." Okay... him knowing I was here was one thing, he had likely felt the same chord connecting us as I had, but how could he know my name? Or my reason for being here? That there even was a reason.

"So there is a reason?" I confirmed. I had begun to lose all faith, begun to believe I was just a nobody, someone born to be hunted or executed. The Dragon slowly began to nod his head, watching me with eyes that spoke of the many years he had lived. Just how old was he?

"Arthur is the once and future King who will unite the land of Albion." Arthur? What did he have to do with anything?

"Right…?" I let my voice trail off, waiting for him to continue.

"He faces many threats, from friends and foe alike." Yeah, he was a Prince. And an ass. It came with the lifestyle.

"I don't see what this has to do with me." His eyes flashed a little and it startled me enough to stop talking.

"Everything! Without you, Arthur will never succeed. Without you, there will be no Albion." His voice had grown more forceful, the power of his words almost enough for me to believe he may have a point. Almost.

"No. No, you've got this wrong."

"There is no right or wrong. Only what is. And what isn't." Yeah, and it wasn't my job to keep that prat safe.

"I'm serious! If anyone wants to kill him they can go ahead. In fact, I'll give them a hand.". The dragon started to chuckle, shaking his head in amusement. I hadn't said it to be funny. Okay, maybe the last bit.

"None of us can choose our destiny, Merlin." He could see I was about to object yet again and cut me off. "And none of us can escape it." I was seriously hoping that he was wrong because, in order to save Arthur, I would have to be around Arthur. Or maybe he was right. Maybe it was my job to protect somebody called Arthur but it couldn't be the same one I was thinking of. There was no way that ass was going to unite anything!

"No. No way. No. There must be another Arthur because this one's an idiot."

"Perhaps it is your destiny to change that." That would be a job in itself. I'd spend more time saving him from himself than any enemies. Before I could say anything more the Dragon's wings began to lift, beating down until he was a foot in the air.

"Wait! No Stop! Wait! I need to know more!" He didn't listen, beginning to fly further up into the cavern, completely ignoring me, until I could no longer see him.

With no choice but to accept that this conversation was over, I turned to leave. I needed to at least try to get some sleep tonight, after all. And the Dragon clearly wasn't coming back anytime soon. My destiny was to protect Arthur? Pfft. Yeah, right.